Hurricanes in Paradise

By: Denise Hildreth

A 5-star resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas.  A beautiful director with a haunted past.  Add a beauty queen with secrets of her own, a colorful bedazzled senior citizen recovering from the loss of her husband and a snarky, reclusive writer and you have an explosive mix.  And, there’s a hurricane headed right for them.

The descriptions of the hotel and the island are phenomenally real and the characters are written with depth and resonance.  However, having recently emerged from personal hurricanes of her own, what Hildreth brings us is much more than a summer beach read.  She offers a sometimes quirky, often identifiable peek into personal pain.  Most importantly, she weaves the hope that is only available from the God of all comfort throughout a believable, powerful story.

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Special thanks to Denise Hildreth and Tyndale Publishers for donating copies.

Sometimes a Light Surprises by Jamie Langston Turner

 This surprising book from one of my favorite authors also happens to be my book club’s selection this month.  Rich with literary allusions, quotations and quirky characters, it satisfies without any of the typical endings. There’s an unsolved mystery, a bad guy, a nosy secretary and family fabric galore. Kelly Kovatch is a young girl working her first “real world” job after graduating from a home school classroom.  Her first boss and her mother have a history that she knows nothing about. Tragedy haunts both families, but they have vastly different ways of coping.  Do the little things we do really, truly  impact our world? Is it possible for us to make a difference one gesture, one prayer, one reaching-out at a time?  I think you’ll find that sometimes a light surprises.

Following is a list of things I have done today:

Smacked the snooze button on my alarm clock. 

Showered and made three vain attempts to make fluffy a determinedly flat side of my hair. 

Took the puppy out and the bills to the mailbox.

Drove children to school. 

Walked two miles and prayed. 

Ate a muffin and drank a glass of chocolate milk. 

Attacked a pile [I loathe piles] of “stuff” at my place on the kitchen table. 

Started the dishwasher. 

Sorted laundry and did two loads. 

Picked up four pieces of fuzz off the stairs. 

Looked out the window longingly.

Gave up and sat on the porch for my devotions.

 While I was there, I finished the last twenty pages of a fiction book I was almost done with and the Lincoln biography, Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  Loved it.

Unloaded the dishwasher.

Squished an ant who was lazily exploring the bottom of my [empty!] laundry basket.

 Scooted things off the floor so the bug man can spray this afternoon.

Saw this book at the store and had this random thought- guess whose life I am NOT interested in hearing about?  Kate Goesslin’s.

Thought really hard about vacuuming the baseboards, but Thursday is housecleaning day, not today.

Pretended I was Julie Andrews.

Pretended I was Erma Bombeck.

Wished my hair would behave.

Wondered if Kirstie Alley weighs more than I do. [She was on the cover of Ladies’ Home Journal, which came in the mail.]  Oh yeah, I got the mail.

Moved things around on my desk.

Reminded myself that this is my writing day.

Wondered why then, wasn’t I writing.

Made a list on really cute cherry-bordered paper of my writing assignments for the week.

Knew you would wonder whether or not there was some deep spiritual point to this.

I’ll save you the trouble.  Nope.  There isn’t.  It’s just sometimes, all of us, this Wannabe Woman included, put off things we know they should be doing.

So, to quote Father Timothy from the Mitford Series, “Philippians 4:13 for Pete’s sake!”  All things girls!  We really can do them in Christ.  Read, set, go!

See details on this contest to win one of her books!

Which of the books is your favorite?

The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized because it helps moms to learn to find a “doable” groove that works for them and helps them to take care of the ‘have tos’ of life in an efficient manner so they can get around to the ‘want tos”!

What inspires you when writing? What inspires you as a mother?
Helping women do life well and do it in a way that glorifies God. As a mother, knowing God has entrusted my kids to me and He will provide all I need to raise them well if I will only rely on Him.

Could you leave us with your 3 best organizing tips so we can be inspired around the house?                                 

“Don’t put it down; put it away” Teach it. Model it. Live it. Be blessed by it.
Second, be proactive, not reactive. By this I mean, have a routine in place where you take care of tasks on the front end–before they have reached the point of no return–rather than waiting until the job is nearly impossible because you have neglected it so long. What does this look like? Spending 10 minutes once a week pitching old and outdated food from the fridge and wiping down the shelves just before you get groceries. Then you won’t need a haz mat suit and a chisel because you haven’t done it for three months!!

           Third, “work before play.” Teach your kids this concept and build in fun “play oriented” rewards. Live by it yourself too. “I will finish organizing this junk drawer and then I will have a cup of hot cocoa and read my new magazine for 15 minutes. Until then, the magazine stays closed.”

Learning to Fly by Roxanne Henke

Where did the time go?

Laugh and cry as you remember and anticipate every stage of motherhood, from newborn nights, toddler tales and first days of school to driver’s licenses, curfews, the dating game and the sudden shock of graduation.

Two friends, Susan and JoJo, observe, struggle and attempt to document every stage of their daughters’ lives.  Like most of us, they second guess themselves and how they’re doing as parents, as wives, as friends and with what their new identities should be. 

It always ends up being about wings and roots, doesn’t it?  When do you ground them and when do you let go to watch them soar, cheering them on?  Read this poignant and realistic celebration.